The Wrong House (2017)

Albus Potter sat on the stool in the middle of the Hogwarts Great Hall with the Sorting Hat on his head. The entire time he had been on the Hogwarts Express, sitting with his cousins Rose and Dominique, his brother James had continued teasing him that he would be in Slytherin. Rose had acted just like Aunt Hermione and worried that she wouldn't be in Gryffindor, especially after Uncle Ron told her he'd disown her if she wasn't sorted there. So much pressure. Instead of wondering which house he would soon be placed in, though, all he could think of was how heavy the hat was and that it smelled somewhat like his Mum's Quidditch gloves after he'd left them out in the rain.

"The reason I smell that way is that I'm quite old, young Mister Potter. Now, which house should I place you in? An equal fit in all of the houses, the mind's there for Ravenclaw, brave enough for Gryffindor, the cunning of a Slytherin…but I don't think that's best. Hmm...lot to live up to, son of the most famous Gryffindor, named after two Headmasters, one a Slytherin…

"Not Slytherin."

"Not Slytherin, eh? Like father, like son. Agreed. You need to find your own path, and for that, my boy, there's only one place for you at Hogwarts, and that is…HUFFLEPUFF!"

As soon as Albus' eyes adjusted to the light of the Great Hall he noticed all of the shocked faces. His older brother sat slack-jawed at the Gryffindor table, his hand resting on the open seat next to him that he fully expected to be filled by Albus. Slowly he stood up, and after a few steps the Hufflepuff table exploded into applause. A voice could be heard above the din in an excited voice saying "We got a Potter! We got a Potter!"

Albus walked slowly, scanning the students at the Hufflepuff table, searching for a familiar face, but there weren't any. A very tall boy with black hair stood up and motioned Albus towards an empty seat at the table, which Albus took quickly.

"Don't worry, Albus. We'll take care of you. That lot will calm down eventually. I'm Angus McDubh."

Albus noticed the Prefect's badge on Angus' robes and nodded, but his head was swimming. He had been worried that he would be sorted into Slytherin, but he had never expected Hufflepuff, of all houses. What had the Sorting Hat said, he needed to go his own path or something? If that was the case, why not Ravenclaw? Wasn't he smart enough?

Somewhere in the corner of his mind that was still paying attention to the sorting he heard Professor Longbottom say "Rose Weasley," and Albus was jolted out of his thoughts. He watched his cousin walk over to the stool, and after the sorting hat was placed on her head it almost immediately placed her in Ravenclaw. Maybe that was what the hat was talking about; his path would be in Hufflepuff because Rosie was now in Ravenclaw. He wondered what Uncle Ron would say.

A piece of paper came across the table and was shoved under Albus' face. He looked up at a girl who had blue hair and a giant smile on her face. Before he could ask what was going on, though, Angus took the paper angrily and shook his finger at the girl.

"None of that. He's a regular first year."

Albus looked up to Angus and sighed. At least the Prefect understood. He hoped his Mum and Dad would understand, but at least his godparents would be happy. He glanced over to the staff table and saw Hank Boyd, or Professor Muggle as everyone called him, nod at him, and Al barely raised his hand in a small wave. Well, his godfather would be happy no matter what, but his godmother would be ecstatic.

After the feast Albus watched Dominique walk with James towards Gryffindor tower, and he saw James wave while shaking his head. Just one more thing his brother could tease him about. He realized that his first year housemates were leaving him so he walked quickly, taking care to get as close to Angus as possible. As they walked towards the Hufflepuff common room entrance Albus noticed that the girl with the blue hair was next to him, and as he caught her eye she looked away quickly, but then looked back.

"Sorry."

Albus shrugged. "It's ok. James said it would happen. I don't mind."

"I'm Penny. Penny Gilp."

"I'm Al. Nice to meet you, Penny."

The continued walking until they'd reached the Hufflepuff common room, and then Angus quieted everyone. Al watched the older boy look over his new housemates, and it was then Al realized that several of the students were looking at him.

"Right then, you lot. Here's how it works." Angus took a deep breath. "The boys dorm is to the left, girls dorm is to the right. Your trunks are already in your rooms. Don't miss breakfast, and besides stroking the peach in the painting there's a password to get in to the common room. The password is 'gabba gabba hey,' and if you forget it you'll be out of luck."

"What does that mean? Is it a spell?" A boy with long brown hair a few feet away from Al looked up to Angus. "I've never heard of that one."

Angus shook his head. "No, it's not a spell. Professor Muggle gives us crazy passwords, usually from Muggle songs or stuff like that. It's a contest, and he gives the person who figures it out a treat of some kind. Just remember it and you'll be fine. Ok, off to your rooms now."

Al headed with the rest of the boys towards the dorms, and after a couple of wrong rooms he finally found his trunk in the bedroom that sat the farthest away from all the other rooms, as it was at the end of the hallway. He was the second of the roommates to arrive, and after taking off his robe and hanging it up he looked over to the boy whose bed was next to his. A small, scrawny looking boy with sandy-blonde hair sat on the bed and was writing a note with a Muggle ink pen like his godfather always used. Before he could say anything the boy looked over to him.

"Do, um, do you think I'll have to use a quill?"

Al shrugged. "Dunno, probably. Are your parents Muggles?"

The boy nodded. "I just thought I was weird until we got the letter. Headmaster Titus and Professor Boyd came and talked to my Mum and Dad and explained everything." The boy sat down his ink pen. "I'm Jeff, Jeff Flanagan."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Al Potter."

"Did Professor Boyd come and talk to your parents, too?"

Al shook his head. "No, my parents are wizards."

"Oh yeah, big wizards." The boy with the long hair who had asked Angus the question about the password came in, and after looking around at the trunks settled into the bed the farthest away from Al. "Famous wizards. Big celebrities. Shouldn't you be in Gryffindor like the rest of your family? What'd you do wrong, Albus Severus Potter?"

"I didn't do anything wrong. And I go by Al." Al sat up straighter on his bed, trying to figure out what the kid's problem was.

Before the long-haired boy could say anything else the last roommate appeared. His tie was crooked, shirt untucked, and he was out of breath and sweaty. "I have to be in here, everyplace else is full up."

Jeff meekly pointed towards the empty bed next to Al, and the newly-arrived boy did a belly flop onto his bed, causing everyone except the long-haired boy to laugh. They watched as he sat up, tore off his tie and flung it over his head.

"I hate wearing those things. I'm Will Jensen."

"Will…not your full name, is it?" The long-haired boy cocked his head at an angle. "What did they say before you were sorted?"

Will sighed deeply. "It's Wilberforth. Family name."

"Brian Hadley." The long-haired boy looked at Will and Al, and then motioned to Jeff. "Looks like we've got two celebrities as roommates. The son of The Boy Who Lived and the heir to Wilberforth Jensen's Famous Floo Powder." He turned to Will. "Come on, that's not your full name, is it?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Wilberforth Andronicus Jensen the seventh." After noticing Jeff's expression he shrugged. "It's what happens when your family wants to keep the packaging the same."

Jeff managed a weak smile, and Al knew that he'd have to explain some things later. Brian tone had somewhat irritated Al, as it was almost like the long-haired boy was picking on all of his roommates.

Al looked over to Brian. "So what's your story, then?"

Brian snorted derisively. "Easy. Sorting Hat mucked it up. I shouldn't be in here, I should be in Gryffindor. I'm going to talk to the Headmaster tomorrow and get everything straightened out. Merlin, I'm not even going to unpack. Why bother?"

Jeff looked confused. "What's wrong with Hufflepuff?"

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff? Are you kidding?" Brian looked almost angry. "You must be Muggleborn, which would definitely explain why you're here. Didn't you hear the Sorting Hat song? Gryffindor is for the brave, Slytherin for the cunning, Ravenclaw for the clever and Hufflepuff takes everybody. You know what that means? Hufflepuffs take anybody left over, they're losers."

Al had heard enough. "Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, and you do? Everyone of your family has been in Gryffindor, right Potter?" Brian spit out Al's surname as if it was almost a curse word. "All you know is Gryffindor; you don't know a thing about Hufflepuff."

Now Al was getting angry. "I do too. My godmother was in Hufflepuff, and our head of house is my godfather. And Teddy Lupin, his mum was in Hufflepuff too. And my Dad's told me about Cedric Diggory…don't go mouthing off if you don't know what you're talking about, Hadley."

"No wonder you're in here, Potter. Your godparents are Hufflepuffs and Professor Muggle is your godfather? Makes perfect sense now. It's all setup for you to be the star. I suppose you'll be on the Quidditch team and be the only first year Head Boy in history before Christmas."

Jeff held out his hands. "Come on, guys, it's our first night here. We've got class tomorrow morning!"

Will got off of his bed and started rummaging around in his trunk until he'd procured a set of shockingly loud plaid pajamas. "Well I don't know about you idiots but I'm going to bed. Leave him alone, Potter. After all, he'll be in Gryffindor tomorrow, right? Why waste any breath on him."

Al sat next to Will in Muggle Studies, near the back, as he didn't want anyone to think that just because Uncle Hank was his godfather he was going to get preferential treatment. As they waited for Professor Muggle to arrive Al reminded himself to call his godfather Professor Muggle like everyone else. While waiting he noticed Will's book bag wasn't actually a bag, it was a dragon hide briefcase with his initials on top in gold letters.

"Wow, nice case!" Al pointed down towards their feet, and after realizing what Al was talking about Will nudged it over with his foot.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I told Dad that it was too fancy for Hogwarts, but he went on about how we Jensens have to keep up appearances and some rot. I wanted a regular rucksack but he wouldn't let me." Will opened his book and then nudged Al. "Check out Hadley, sitting up there with the Gryffindors. Think they'll actually let him switch houses?"

Al shook his head. "No way. Sorting Hat's never been wrong, has it?"

"Dunno. Never heard of anyone switching houses."

Before either of them could expound on the possibilities of switching houses Professor Muggle walked into the classroom in the tweed suit that Al had seen before, and as expected he was wearing a yellow and black striped bow tie. After setting down his book and a battered looking notebook Professor Muggle turned to the class.

"I'd like you to put away your wands, as we won't need them for Muggle Studies. This class will prepare you for life with Muggles, as there will be times that you will need to blend into the Muggle world. Before we begin I'd like to ask a few questions. How many of you in here have ever been to a Muggle restaurant, shop or any other Muggle establishment?"

Al held up his hand and noticed that only three other hands went up besides him. With his hand in the air Al looked over to Will, who shook his head and had a "are you kidding?" look on his face.

"Very good. You can put your hands down now." Professor Muggle sat on the corner of his desk and looked at them. "Right. Well, for those who are wondering, I was raised in the Muggle world and had no idea that I had any magical ability until I came to Hogwarts, so I'm very well acquainted with how things work for Muggles. The goal of this class is to make you as knowledgeable as possible, so that when, and it will be when, not if you have to mix with Muggles you can do so without raising any suspicion that you are a witch or a wizard. Please turn to page four of your textbook, and we'll get started."

After reading some of the textbook and receiving their first in-class assignment Will and Al worked well together until a small explosion was heard. As he looked toward the origin of the sound Al saw a small puff of green smoke linger in the air around Professor Muggle. His godfather's hair was a slight greenish color. Professor Muggle stood up, walked to the middle of the room carrying a small notebook and from experience Al knew that his godfather was not at all pleased. He elbowed Will and whispered that whoever did it was in big trouble.

Professor Muggle looked around the room. "Ok, then, I see someone has decided to try to have a little fun with me because as it's commonly known that my wand is useless. My wand may not function as well as yours, but I have other ways of making life difficult for you. Trust me, y'all are amateurs compared to the first class that decided to prank me." He took a look at the beaten up notebook and thrust it roughly into the pocket of his jacket. "Its obvious that someone decided not to listen to what I said at the beginning of class about wands, so I'm going to give you something to reinforce my rule. I expect to see half a foot of parchment on Friday summarizing how Muggles do things without wands, part of your assignment this week. You'll find that Chapter One covers this topic quite thoroughly."

As Professor Muggle walked back to his desk Will exhaled slowly and then nudged Al. "That could have been worse."

Al shook his head. "Don't relax yet, he's not done. Trust me; I've been on the wrong end of his lectures before."

Al waited for the other shoe to drop, but class continued on. He'd thought that maybe Professor Muggle was easier in class than the time when he'd accidentally dropped a glass of pumpkin juice on Professor Muggle's records after being told to not be in the office with liquid, but he was wrong. Right before class ended Professor Muggle stood up.

"Remember, a half foot of parchment Monday. And Mr. Hadley? You've just lost five points from Hufflepuff."

Hadley shrugged and looked as if he didn't care. "That's fine; I'm in the wrong house anyway."

Professor Muggle shook his head. "I don't think so, Mr. Hadley. And now it's ten points and detention. Dismissed."

After surviving Charms and DADA two of Al's three roommates sat together in the common room, and when he joined them they did not look happy.

"I can't believe he did that in class, and to a professor, he's got to be mental." Jeff looked over at his roommates. "I mean, he's a professor!"

"That's nothing; you should hear what happened the first year he taught at Hogwarts. My Uncle George told me those stories. Crazy." Al sat back in one of the comfortable chairs by the fireplace. "He should have kept his mouth shut and it would have only been five points."

"Hey Potter!"

Al turned around to see Angus McDubh walking over towards him, and then when he reached the roommates he sat down on the empty chair by the fire, sinking down so that his head wasn't visible from behind.

"Merlin, it's been a crazy day. I've got a request for you, Potter, and your roommates. Professor Muggle wants you to have dinner with him in his room tonight. There, that's the last of the tasks done. I swear you first years are a troublesome lot this year."

Jeff's eyes were big. "We haven't done anything, sir, honest."

"Sir?" Angus laughed. "I appreciate that but Angus is fine. You're Flannery, right?"

"Close. Flanagan."

Jeff still looked nervous to Al; then again, Jeff always seemed nervous about everything. "Ok, we can do that, Angus." Al paused for a moment. "Um, Angus, did you hear about Hadley? What happened today in Muggle Studies?"

Angus rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, that was fun. I've already talked to him, and he was determined to talk to Headmaster Titus about trying to switch over to Gryffindor. He's in the Headmaster's office now, actually. Just got back from taking him up there after finding out from Professor Muggle that Hadley's doing his detention with Filch. Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

Will kicked Al's foot and moved his eyes towards the doorway, and when Al looked over he saw that Hadley had walked into the common room, and it was obvious that Hadley wasn't happy. When Hadley noticed Al, Will and Jeff sitting by the fireplace his expression changed and he headed over there.

"It looks like I'm stuck with you rejects. The Headmaster wouldn't listen to common sense, and that prig McDubh tried to tell me that this house is just as good as the others. That's just because he couldn't make it anywhere else."

Will began laughing, and before Al could say anything the head of Angus McDubh rose from behind the chair where he had been slouched down out of sight. "Oh really, Hadley? You know, I know a few things about this castle, especially the places where I could bodybind you and you wouldn't be found for a while."

Hadley turned without saying anything and walked away towards his bedroom.

"Thanks, Professor Boyd, it was really good. I didn't, um, and, ah..."

"It's quite all right, Jeff. I think you're the first student to not call me Professor Muggle in a couple of years."

Al laughed inside when he heard that, as he knew that his godfather didn't mind being called Professor Muggle at all; in fact, he actually liked it. It had been a nice evening, as Al and his roommates were invited to find some music to put on while they ate, and he got a kick out of hearing what Will and Jeff thought of the crazy Muggle albums that his godfather always listened to. Al wanted to make sure his godfather was in a good mood for the questions he wanted to ask him, so he'd put on an album he knew was one of Uncle Hank's favorites.

After explaining how his godfather made tea without magic, when everyone had settled in next to the fireplace with their tea Al decided that it was the right time to ask his questions.

"Um, Professor, is it possible to get a different roommate?"

Hank pushed his glasses onto the top of his head and looked at Al intently. "I take it you're asking about Brian Hadley? Sorry, boys, but the roommates are set, there's no changing them now."

"Is it true that he asked to move to Gryffindor?" Will seemed as comfortable as Al talking to his professor, something that Al chalked up to the fact that he must have spent a lot of time with adults at his Dad's company.

Hank nodded. "He did. The Sorting Hat has its reasons, even if we don't see them right away. There's a reason that each of you was sorted into Hufflepuff, don't forget that."

Al realized that his godfather was quiet, and knew that he was doing his trick where he would wait for somebody to say something, even though Al knew he had more to say. He was content to wait and see what else would happen, but Will didn't know his godfather like Al did.

"What's his story? He's a right pain in the arse to live with, and we haven't even been here a week." Will looked at his roommates. "Well it's true. I mean, Al he gave you a hard time for not being in Gryffindor like your family, and he said nasty things to Jeff about having Muggle parents."

The boys watched Professor Muggle get up, go over to his desk and come back and sit down with a pipe and a pouch of tobacco. "Boys, this is our secret. Al, I know you know better, but you two…if my wife ever comes to Hogwarts you've never seen me smoke my pipe, right?" After all the boys nodded, Hank packed his pipe and then looked over to Al. After Al used his wand to produce a small flame Hank puffed on it a few times and then sat back. "Ok, I'm going to tell you some things, but you can't let Mr. Hadley know that I've told you. Your roommate didn't have the easiest life before he arrived here. His father was a wizard and his mother is a Muggle, but after his father died of an illness his mother left him with his magical grandparents. He hasn't seen her in a few years. His grandparents, who he lives with, were in Gryffindor and they've probably filled him with stories of how great Gryffindor is. From what Neville, um, Professor Longbottom has told me Brian's father was also in Gryffindor, but besides the fact that he attended Hogwarts we don't see his name anywhere. Melvin, his father, seems to have blended in and not done anything to make a name for himself."

Jeff looked up towards Professor Muggle. "So we need to be nice to him, even though he's being a right git."

Professor Muggle laughed. "How you boys react is up to you. But let me remind you about Hufflepuff values. We work hard, we do things the right way and we are very loyal, but most of all we're tolerant. You've all been sorted into Hufflepuff for a reason, so I think when the time comes you'll know what to do."

For the next few weeks Albus' room seemed like it was two rooms, Hadley's side and everyone else's. They hardly spoke, and even though Jeff had tried to strike up casual conversations and generally get along, Hadley ignored them. Al noticed that when he was between classes that nobody spoke to Hadley, especially the Gryffindors. James had been unwilling to try and convince some of the older Gryffindor boys to stop giving him a hard time, and he'd had to tell Al that he couldn't help Hadley especially as the boy didn't seem to want any help.

It was after the first Quidditch match of the year, where Slytherin had beaten Ravenclaw that things finally came to a head. Al, Will and Jeff were walking back towards the castle when they saw a group of older Gryffindor boys in a circle pushing someone between them. Al elbowed Will, and the two of them headed towards the Gryffindors, Jeff following closely behind them. As they got closer Al's stomach dropped, as he realized who the person in the middle of the circle was.

Al had his hand in his pocket, feeling for his wand as they came up to the boys. "Hadley, you ok?" .

The tallest boy looked over at Al. "The wannabe? Oh, he's having a blast, aren't you?"

Another boy took out his wand and Al watched as Hadley's limbs shot straight to his side and he fell over frontwards, landing directly on his face.

"Stop it." Will stood next to Al with his wand out. "Go pick on someone your own size."

"Yeah, um, stop it." Jeff stood next to Will and Al noticed that his wand was shaking.

"A bunch of little Hufflepuffs are pointing their wands at me? I'm so scared." The tall boy nonchalantly flicked his wand and Jeff threw down his wand and put his hands to his face in pain.

"Stinging hex, not smart." Al focused on the tall boy and remembered the bat-bogey hex that his mother had taught him, just for "emergencies," and soon the tall boy began flailing his arms about.

After that a female voice said Expelliarmus and everybody's wands flew out of their hands. Al turned to see Professor Petal Farnsworth, his DADA professor, and everyone's wands floated in front of her. From the dark expression on her face he knew this wasn't good.

Al and his roommates stood in front of Professor Muggle. He watched his godfather look at him and his roommates, pace for a while, return to look at them and pace for a few more moments. Just when Al thought he was going to burst Professor Muggle sat behind his desk in his usual chair.

"Ok, let's get to the bad part first. All of you have detention except for Mr. Hadley. Jensen, Flanagan, you're to report to Hagrid tomorrow night after supper. Potter, I believe Filch has a special task for you, same time as your roommates."

"What about the Gryffindor gits?" Brian Hadley looked to Professor Muggle. "I mean, they started it."

"I'm not sure if they actually started it, Mr. Hadley. After all, haven't you been saying that you'd rather be in Gryffindor? Is that still your wish? The boys you wish to be housemates immobilized you and when you fell you broke your nose. Madam Pomfrey said it was an easy fix, but still. I want you to think about that." Professor Muggle paused and took a deep breath. "Now, they will be punished. I've talked to Professor Longbottom, and he assures me that the appropriate punishment will happen. As I understand it those boys have been troublemakers for quite a while, although they've never done anything in my class. I do want you to know that I am proud that you three stood up for your housemate."

The roommates looked at each other, all of them registering different levels of surprise.

"That doesn't mean I'm letting you off, the detentions still stand." Professor Muggle came over to the boys and sat on the front of the desk. "Three first year boys standing up to three sixth year boys who were doing something wrong to their roommate. That's loyalty. I don't approve of how you dealt with the situation, but you'll do better next time. Mr. Hadley, I want you to think about what happened tonight. Ok, boys, dismissed."

As they left Professor Muggle's room Brian looked over to his roommates. "I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get detention."

Will waved it off. "Completely worth it. Did you see their faces when Al hit the big one with the bat-bogey hex? That was brilliant."

"Besides, you're a Hufflepuff." Jeff smiled tightly.

Hadley nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Later that night Al was almost asleep when he sensed someone close to his bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry, didn't know if you were asleep or not." Hadley stood at the foot of his bed. "I just wanted to say I know I've been an arse. I just knew I was going to be in Gryffindor, and…"

"Trust me, I get that one." Al laughed. "You should have heard what happened when my family heard. I'm the first Potter or Weasley not to be in Gryffindor, um, ever. My Dad was happy, and Mum said she was too, but I know she wanted me to be in Gryffindor like her. Things change. An' my cousin Rosie's in Ravenclaw, the second Potter or Weasley to not be in Gryffindor. It's not like it used to be."

"What about your brother? He's in Gryffindor."

"Yeah, but James is a pain. I'm glad I'm not in the same house as him." Even though Al knew he already had detention, he thought this was the perfect time. "Hey Hadley, want to go have some fun?"

"You've already got detention, what are you going to do?" Hadley looked over to his sleeping roommates. "Wouldn't be fair to not take them."

Al smiled. Hadley was starting to come around, just as his godfather has predicted. "Definitely. Wake up Will and I'll get Jeff."

Moments later the pajama-clad boys sat in a circle in the area between their beds, Will's wand lighting the area faintly. They all looked to Al, who placed a piece of parchment on the floor.

"Ok, you all have to swear that you'll never tell anyone about this. Dad doesn't know that I nicked it from his office and anybody who says a single word has to lick the trunk of the Whomping Willow." After they all agreed Al touched his wand to the parchment and said the words "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."